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Hi ya'll

This is a stupid question I'm sure, and someone is probably going to be blunt and ask why I would even think of trying it, my answer now...why not? It was there...With that said I'll go on...


See as a lot of you know I won that 75 gallon that is now sitting in Leslie's living room (i've got pics, just can't get them off the camera and onto the computer)...anyways been waiting to get lights for the hood that came with it till I could get the hood tested, but each time i'm heading to the lfs I tend to forget itso I was looking at the lighting contraption Leslie originally bought for Zina the turtle, she had put in a 60 watt bulb, so it was set...

So I looked at it, figure the clampy piece out, simply squeeze and it opens type thing. It had rubber grips on the clamp where it holds on...so I clamped it to the back of the tank, raised it so that it was about 6 inches or so above the water level, and turned it on...I've kept an eye on the temp and it's not changing, and the angels in there are loving the light, or at least now they are frolicking on that side of the tank

[font color="#C00000"]question[/font] is this ok? Will this work even as a temporary lighting till I pull my brain together? Could this also work as additional lighting, to add some "extra wattage" for plants on other tanks? Main "other" tank I was thinking is the 125...

What do ya'll think?

Heidi

Last edited by houston at 10-Sep-2005 21:32

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

is the bulb covered by some kind of plastic shield so that water doesn't splash on it? i think i know what you are talking about, kind of a metal shade and a on/off switch on the back. i think it would be fine if it had a shield, but otherwise i would be cautious of electifying my fish.

Last edited by dogmai333 at 10-Sep-2005 21:45

MONKEYS ARE COOL, BUT SEA-MONKEYS ARE BETTER.

I had a few of those clip on lights for turtles- still do in fact, I found the specific bulbs that were touted to have a high uv content really didnt. Having looked at the research, striplights have a much higher uvb and the correct uva content- like zoomeds reptile bubs for example. The spotlights are pretty useless so at least you dont have to worry about damaging fish with excessive uvb.

So when the bulbs went i just used regular spotlight bulbs. They all explode on contact with water anyway so theres no point in spending a lot of money on them. I dont find the grips that great either they can easily slip from glass if theyre too looses and if theyre too tight they can put uneven pressure on the glass. I nearly electrocuted my turles with one of them when it fell in the water- but they didnt even seem to notice- i unplugged it and took it out, no shock- a lucky break.

Id stick with striplights that at least have rubber bungs on the end in case they drop in the water and if youre gonna use spots of any description they should really either be housed in a specifically designed mount well clear or the water or be contained in a glass casing to prevent splashes blowing the bulbs.

Regular spotlights dont really hurt the fish and having light spots in the tank can be very pleasant, but dont forget that spots can get a lot hotter than strips and if theyre aimed at the glass and turned off and on etc during the course of a day this may eventually weaken the glass because of the glass expanding and shrinking with the heat from the bulb in a small area. ccccrrrraaack.

I fyou really love the spotlight effect you can buy small submersible lights that are actually low wattage superbright l.e.d's , they have a little electrical fuse box and transformer and are much safer and definately dont heat the water. They also last much longer too. Trust me changing blown spotlight bulbs for my reptiles is a major pain in the backside,looking for stray bits of glass in substrate- mercury vapour getting in the water - and you know how fish are with shiny things. You dont even wanna go there.



Last edited by longhairedgit at 10-Sep-2005 22:15

In the interim, a clamp lamp is fine. But as mentioned above, be careful that you don't let it drop into the water or get any splashed on it. I had a bulb shatter after watering my snake's cage. there was some water left on the screen, and it touched and *smash* *tinkle tinkle tinkle* Whups

Besides the obvious bulb explosion potential, a regular 60 watt bulb isn't a great idea for the tank, hit walmart or the lfs and get yourself and aquarium incandescent bulb or one of the compact floro bulbs that they now make with the standard screw type fitting. Not only will the light be much brighter, it will also be much cleaner and wont propogate the outrageous algae growth that a standard bulb will. At $6 each, these guys are a great buy for standoff spotlighting, and will work great until you can hook up your strip.

You can not electrocut the fish uless you touch the electrified water. I should know I had a faulty heater which simple made the water electrical and shocked you every time you tuch it. This is because the tank is glass which does not coduckt electricity.